Kazeyama: Redux [IC]

[Zypher]

The bullet train rested in the station as students from Kazeyama boarded, coming back from their last day of freedom before classes officially started, getting their last minute school supplies, relaxing before having to study or just spending time with some friends. The train quickly filled up and it departed, heading into the Kazeyama City-Campus.

Rika sighed as the train car clattered along the tracks, towards the large high school end of the campus. She had dressed lightly for the day, a simple tank top with a short sleeve black coat, a short red plaid skirt and a pair of brown boots, her hair tied back in a low ponytail. It had been difficult for Rika to leave her old friends behind but her parents really wanted to attend Kazeyama, it was such a prestigious school and apparently the full scholarship was a very big honor. She had already been to the dorms once, unpacking her bags and settling in, but she wanted one more day in Kyoto, after all the newest Sakura Musume album had come out and she just had to have it.

Turning her gaze to her bag she rifled through it and found the ipod, plugging in her headphones and quickly placing them over her ears. The music quickly started playing and Rika couldn't help but groove in her seat a little bit, the train getting closer to the station for the high school.

It hadn't taken long for the doors open at the campus and Rika was nearly crushed on her way out, being so small really was a disadvantage for her a good amount of the time. When she finally managed to squeeze her way out she pulled the headphones off and turned her ipod down, placing the headphones on the back of her neck she was approached by a couple of other students.

"Are you lost? The middle school is two stops away." One guy asked, leaning down to her level and looking her in the eye.

With a sigh Rika smiled widely and shook her head, "Just cause I look young doesn't mean I don't know where to go, I'm in high school alright!" She gave a thumbs up and stepped past him, heading towards the dorm district down the street from the station.

 

[Diana]

Manami was just stepped out of the administration building after a meeting with one of the school guidance counselors. There were a lot of the usual questions. The ones she was well practiced in answering by tutors every time she needed a new one. But here for this school, some of the questions were a little strange! Sure, she expected a private school to have strange policy. But what did they mean by secret talents? All she could thing to tell them was her fabulous fashion sense!

Delicately balancing several books and folders filled with paperwork in her hands, Manami was trying to read a schoolmap, her daily schedule AND translate everything with a Japanese to English language book. If her father knew just how bad her Japanese was, he'd probably call her the shame of the family. Even worse because he was a Language Major himself!

For the time being, she needed to find out where her dorm room was supposed to be and where the clubs met at. She snagged the first person she spotted and presented them a wide smile. People always responded well to smiling!

"Um, gomen... But uh Yunbe, washa no kei-tora ga tanbo ni ochi-tan ja waa…?" she asked the two girls. Their smiling looks quickly turned confused.

One leaned to mutter at the other, "Her truck fell in a rice paddy? Is that secret code...?"

"Wait, wait!" Manami replied, flipping quick through her translation book. "I mean, O-nara tsuuumori datta keido... uh, unchi ga dechatta...?" **

At that point both girls started to laugh uproariously and couldn't seem to catch their breath long enough to even respond! They were practically rolling on the ground cackling. Manami could not figure out what was so funny.



(Manami said "I meant to fart but poop came out." XD Whoops.)

 

[Boss Frost]

"Eeey." A man of mediocre looks waved towards Manami, speaking in a rather broken dialect of English. He and the two individuals behind him - taller individuals... twins, one with his hair dyed a blood red, the other with his hair dyed a dark blue. "Come ovu-ah here." All three wore the school uniforms, though none of them were tucked in. The speaker himself sat on one of the many walled gates. His face was narrow, and his hair a strange mix of colors - almost calico, like a cat's. "Yoo... rost?" He grinned - a smile too wide for his face. His two 'friends' snickered below him. He jumped off the wall, striding closer.

It became obvious that the two girls were not longer laughing, staring at him with wide eye as he came closer. He turned to them, giving them the same grin... before taking his hands from his pockets, crouching down and opening them wide, stating a playful, "Boo!" The two quickly bolted, and he tilted his head back in laughter.

Turning his attention back to Manami, he continues, "I sraw yoo rook at the map. Rost? Odd ta go to place wirrout ranguage." He shrugged, "Not good engrish. Learn from movie. Speak srow, yah?"

One of the two behind him, with the blue hair, tapped on his shoulder, "Aniki, why are we helping her?" He shrugs, looking back to him, "What? We were new once, too. Besides, she's not half bad looking, y'know?" The two grinned, "Of course, aniki!" The three nodded at each other, before Kibou looked back to Manami, "Sro, rhat wirr it be?"

 

[Diana]

Manami blinked for a moment. Either she was a total dumbass, or... she probably sounded as bad speaking Japanese as this guy was at speaking English. She really had to stare at him dead on and focus on the words. She was probably turning red too.

She decided to stick with English. "I'm totally lost, yeah! Like, I tried to get here early so I could work all this out, but I spent all morning in the administration office answering the weirdest questions, you know?" Manami realized she was probably talking way too fast. Or rambling.

"Well... I am trying to find room 606. That's supposed to be my room." If she wasn't so cross-eyed from trying to decipher her paperwork, she could spend more time ogling at how cute he was. This new school stuff was so much easier in America where she could jump straight to the flirting and not worry about communication!

 

[Charbovari]

The first day of the school year. Always an exciting, bustling season. The campus came to life with laughter, shouting, and all manner of human sounds. Just yesterday, the air was filled with the chirping of songbirds and the buzz of cicadas; the foxes and racoons of Kazeyama's forests roamed the campus streets and walkways quite freely. But with today's stampede of youthful, raucous humanity, all the wildlife knew to keep well away from curious hands and careless feet.

Yuuya sat on the grassy grounds near the Kazeyama train station, his back reclined against a tall, shady stand of Japanese Black Pine - one of his favorites on campus. Usually he would be painting, or reading, but today he just watched, as he usually did when the students came back. They were interesting. So many different faces, personalities, colors and forms. One form of wildlife taking the place of another.

He was glad that his parents only made him stay at home for a week during the summer; any longer would have been stifling. Kazeyama was his real home. His parents' demanding business travel - and their deep pockets - made it so that he always moved back onto campus several weeks before the other students arrived. It allowed him to enjoy the campus in that fleeting, curious time when the tanuki ruled the streets. Now it was back to the usual hierarchy, the popular and the beautiful and the scheming lording it over the weak and the downtrodden.

Yuuya strove to walk a middle ground, sticking to himself, taking no sides and making good with everyone he encountered. The price was that he was not really part of any group. And so, despite the impending rush of students, he knew that no one would be looking for him. It was just as well; it meant he would be left well enough alone to his art and his studies. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy though, as he overheard bits of conversation carried by the breeze; the boys teasing the girls; the girls upbraiding the boys. With a toss of his hair, Yuuya stood up, gathering his things and falling in line with the parade of students on their way to the dormitories. He waved at friendly faces from a distance here and there, but otherwise he walked alone. Maybe this year will be different, he thought.

 

[Zypher]

Rika bobbed along with the throng of students heading towards their respective dorms. It was less of a mad dash then she had anticipated, more just old friends walking along with each other, sharing gossip and catching up from the summer. For a moment Rika felt just a twinge of jealousy of the friendships the others had, and a twinge of sadness at her friends who hadn't been offered spots at Kazeyama. It all passed like a leaf in the wind when she replaced the earbuds and her favorite music song came on her ipod. She quickly began moving a little and dancing along as she followed the group, eventually getting so into it that she closed her eyes and continued dancing, her arms moving to the beat, her hips swishing back and forth.

BONK! She had run into someone. Quickly her eyes snapped open to look at the boy, he seemed to be off to the edge of the crowd, how Rika had gotten there she had no clue. She blinked up at him and took out her earbuds, the music still audible as they dangled around her neck.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry...I didn't mean to...I was just dancing you see and like the moves to this song are a little difficult to do in confined spaces, especially in the middle of the crowd so I guess it was natural that I ran into someone...geez, I hope I didn't hurt you or anything..." She poked the tips of her index fingers together and turned her gaze down but quickly snapped them back up, "So uh, my name is Takahashi Rika, it is a pleasure to meet you! I hope we can be friends!" She smiled brightly and gave a small bow to the shaggy haired boy. She was sure that she looked like a complete idiot, shopping bag from the music store in hand. At least he didn't trample me! That's a start...

 

[Fluffy]

Raku arrived in a classroom where she'd be helping Hayashi Sensei teach math on the first day. He was always one of her favourite teachers and she was always one of his star students! It was a wonderful opportunity to get in touch with old acquaintances. She abandoned the possibility of him allowing her to be the teacher assistant just because he wanted something gorgeous to stare at. Raku always hoped that people admired her more for her brains, instead of her looks.

When the instructor walked in, she gratefully ran up to hug him with an enthusiastic "Haya Sensei~!"

The teacher grinned widely, deciding to not return the embrace to not risk his good, positive record. Before the class would start, he gave her some instructions, converse with her about summertime, asked her how school was going. After receiving some instruction on what was to come, she was handed a list of supplies she might need for when she helped teach. It was neatly folder and slipped into her back pocket, a note in the back of her mind that said to go to the store later and to buy some text books.

"I'll see you around, then!" Raku said cheerfully, wiggling her fingers in the air in the form of a wave. When he nodded to her, she walked out of the classroom and made her way to the nearest door that would take her outside. Perhaps, she'd see some familiar faces around the campus. If not that, she could get to know some new ones. With her likable personality and eye catching appearance, someone was sure to greet her.

 

[Seiji]

Date Shinichi bobbed his head to invisible music as he stepped off the train into the station-proper of the Kazeyama City-Campus. He was wearing simple tight jeans and sneakers, and a printed tee with some strange English words on it. His tight muscles strained against the smallness of the shirt, and he reveled in how good he must have looked, his athletic form in his simple, form-fitting-yet-fashionable outfit. He normally didn't think about such trivial things, but having been on the train car full of cute young girls staring at him not a minute before-- well, things like that had an effect on a man.

He blinked underneath the large aviator sunglasses, and adjusted the heavy black duffel bag he carried over his right shoulder. It was incredibly long, and filled with brand new equipment he had decided to buy at the last minute. His parents had given him two different funds to draw from: personal, and school. The personal fund was very small, but the one he was to use for all school-related items was extravagant. Luckily enough, quite a number of things he enjoyed also had an impact on his school life. So he used his large school-fund to buy new clothes, new training equipment, and every now and then, some electronic item he could easy call his parents and explain away that he needed for this class, or that. He wasn't usually a materialistic person, but he enjoyed some of the finer toys as anyone else would.

Smiling broadly at the nearest cute girl he saw, he strolled off and began to walk for the dormitory proper. He passed a number of other students, and waved to a few he knew vaguely. He nodded to all of the cute girls he passed, hoping they'd remember him on some deep level. He knew some would recognize him later. Funny enough, the first Kendo tournament was barely a month away. Which was why he had a bag with two brand new shinai, and a brand new bokken to practice his forms with. They were made of the most expensive materials, and were of exquisite quality. He felt they were worth it.

Others might think him funny, or strange, for spending his last day of freedom buying sporting equipment, of all things, but Shinichi had already done his last-minute school shopping several days before. He had already moved into his dorm room, and was perplexed at still not knowing who his roommate was-- he hadn't even moved in yet! On one hand, he enjoyed the idea of having the room to himself, but on the other, it was a discomforting thought, not having someone always there to call a friend during the school year. He shrugged.

Some time passed, and finally, Shinichi arrived on the campus green. He smiled and took a deep breath as he surveyed the very large open field, surrounded by well-crafted and carefully designed concrete and rock walkways. He shut his eyes and tilted his head back, letting his skin absorb the sun, and felt like he was coming home. It was strange, how the school felt more like home than home was, but he had spent the last three years of his life at this school. He had grown, and developed lots, in these past few years. And he felt like he belonged here, and perhaps, there might be a greater destiny at this school for him...

 

[Boss Frost]

He blinked a moment at her rapid-words, before she finally slowed down and told him what she wanted. "Ahhh. Six-zero-six. No probrem." He motions for her to follow, walking forward a bit... as soon as she caught up, he reached back and snatched the map from her hands, motioning the other two forward... and pointing towards the map, "...Okay, you two." He spoke in japanese, "...Where is room 606?" The three looked over the map for a while, before the blue-haired one pointed at it. "Ah-ha! Good."

Shooing them away and clearing his throat, he hands the map back to Manami, "Okray." He states, before turning and leading the way. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he slumped over as he walked, "My name Kibou." He states, as crowds open to let him pass through, many gawking at him. "Yoo from Amerka?" He asks idly, his two followers looking blankly around. Before he could even hear an answer, the blue-haired one pointed at something.

"Room 606." He states, and Kibou nods with a smile, resting one hand on his hip and thumbing at the door, "There yoo go. Work on japanese, okray?"

 

[Charbovari]

Huh? Hey, someone ran into me... where... oh, down there. Wow, she's short. Wait, she's talking to me? Oh, I should listen...

"...kahashi Rika, it is a pleasure to meet you! I hope we can be friends!"

Yuuya stopped in his tracks as he listened to the girl's hurried apology and self-introduction. He stared at her with a wide-eyed expression that indicated both confusion and curiosity. When Rika finished speaking, he didn't respond in any way, or even move: he stood completely still and continued staring, as the flow of students heading to the dorms weaved its way around them. They stood there for a while like two rocks in a stream.

Finally, he spoke. "Oh, it's okay. I'm Shimizu Yuuya. Doozo yoroshiku." He gave a polite half-bow and brushed his bangs out of his face, then began staring at her again with the same awkward, expectant look, his head tilted a bit, his arms hanging at his sides. He looked as though he were waiting for her to say something... or else waiting for her to do something entertaining. Students continued to push past the pair; Yuuya comfortably allowed them to pass by and between them - he was apparently not in any hurry to get to the dorms, or anywhere else for that matter.

​

 

[Diana]

"If I don't work on my Japanese, I'm totally going to die." Wow, what a helpful guy! He had the wackiest eyebrows too, which made it hard for her to stop staring. It was kind of cute! Manami rocked on her heels for a second, debating on pulling the flirt card or doing what she should be doing and checking out her new classroom.

...it didn't hurt to get to know schoolmates a little!

"Wait, so you go to school here, right?" This time she made sure not to talk too fast. "What sort of clubs are you in? I didn't realize clubs were so big here, but I was thrilled to see there were so many! Oh, did I tell you my name is Manami?"

 

[Zypher]

Rika stood there for a moment with a raised eyebrow, the boy hadn't said a word and just stood there, she felt like an old samurai movie and any second one of them were going to fall over from a fatal katana slash. The music blaring from her earbuds continued to blare between the two of them and before too long her finally spoke.

"I'm Shimizu Yuuya. Doozo yoroshiku." Rika smiled and returned the boy's bow. She was bumped from behind and stumbled forward, with a frown she looked at the person who nearly trampled her with a frown. Everyone at this school seemed so weird, or rude. She turned her gaze back to Yuuya, and smiled.

"Sorry, I'm new here, um, I haven't gotten used to where my dorm is..." Lie "And I don't really want to get lost again..."Another lie "Um, my dorm room is 604, do you think you could show me where that is? I don't think I can find it again..." Why am I lying so much to this guy? I guess I just want some company since he's not trying to run me over... With a smile she hoped he'd respond favorably, the music still blaring between the two of them.

 

[Seiji]

Shinichi stood before the green and watched the students mill about. He normally wasn't the surveying or nosy type, but he decided to take a minute to take in the view of the students rushing about. And rushing they were! Girls were skittering back and forth, shuffling their feet as fast as they could without looking completely unlady-like, and boys were doing their best not to drop the massive heap of things they carried, be it books or supplies or even luggage!

"That's what you get for last minute preparation and move ins," Shinichi said to no one in particular. He continued on his walk, taking his time and enjoying the sights of pretty girls and impressive art and architecture. He looked above the rim of his aviator sunglasses as he noticed a particularly attractive girl walking by, bobbing her head to music he couldn't hear. She had lost herself in her music and Shinichi saw the imminent accident happening. Before he could say anything...

WHUMP.

"Oops," he said aloud, on her behalf. He kept walking and overheard her introduce herself and apologize to the young man she had bumped into, and before he could walk past them entirely, heard her say: "Um, my dorm room is 604, do you think you could show me where that is?.."

"I can!" He said quickly, not meaning to bud in on the conversation, but... "You said room 604, right? Well, I'm in room 605... That should be right across the hallway." He blushed as he suddenly realized he had spoken up out of nowhere, and interrupted their conversation, but... Ah well.

"Ah, sumimasen," he said quickly. "Boku wa Shinichi desu. Dozo."

 

[Charbovari]

Yuuya raised his eyebrows as the cool-looking student drifted by and spontaneously attached himself to his new acquaintance and himself. He was surprised to find himself at the center of a random, unplanned grouping of students like this, without exerting any effort at all on his part. It's quite mysterious how these things happen, isn't it? We float along as we go about our daily lives, each of us an independent chunk of life, rising and falling with the tides - and sometimes we collide and stick together, creating interesting shapes. They look good next to each other like that, Yuuya thought ruefully as he surveyed the other two members of his newly-formed group, his look rather distant despite his close physical proximity to them. Yuuya remained silent, a polite smile pasted onto his face like a barnacle.

Either way, he was glad that the guy answered Rika's question. It allowed him to stand by and continue watching the pair, which he happily did with a slightly bemused expression - like a scientist observing lab rats. As they spoke to each other, Yuuya entertained himself by scooping up a fresh pine cone from the ground and feeling its grooves with his fingers. He held it up to his nose to sniff: a last whiff of nature untarnished by humanity. When politeness called for him to introduce himself, Yuuya dutifully did so - all while holding his pinecone up to his eye and squinting at it, as though he were looking through a telescope.

When Shin'ichi, the new kid, announced his room number, Yuuya couldn't hide a wry grin from his face as he pondered the irony. He pulled a neatly folded printout from his pocket and read it again, just to be sure. Still, he didn't bring it up.

"We'd better get moving before we catch any more driftwood," Yuuya said enigmatically.

 

[Zypher]

Rika nearly jumped when Shinichi had come over.

"I can! You said room 604, right? Well, I'm in room 605... That should be right across the hallway. Boku wa Shinichi desu. Dozo." Rika bowed politely to Shinichi and smiled up at him. Everyone around her was so tall and it was getting to her, she normally was sitting down when she had to talk to people but everyone was standing so craning her neck to look up was a bit unpleasant.

"Ah, you're right across the hall? Excellent! Ah, 'atashi wa Takahashi Rika desu. Douzo Yoroshiku." She bowed lightly to Shinichi, she had herd Yuuya introduce himself. "So let us all be friends, Shinichi-San, Shuuya-San." She couldn't help but notice both of them were rather attractive, 'Shuuya' was a little weird though, maybe he was just awkward. She shrugged off the thought and looked between the two boys.

"So shall we go? What dorm are you in Shuuya? Maybe we can all just walk with each other then?" She smiled, the earbuds fading out of one song and into '女と男のララバイゲーム by モーニング娘.' She bobbed her head to the music and it took all her willpower to not break out into the dance for it, waiting for one of the boys to start leading the way or at very least point her in the correct direction. Even though I know exactly where I'm going...

 

[Seiji]

Rika. Yuuya.

Shinichi dedicated those names to memory, and applied each face to either name. After repeating their names once more each, he knew he would never forget them. While he didn't have a perfect eidetic memory, when he wanted to remember something, he remembered it with perfect clarity. This moment was already dedicated to memory.

Rika was a very pretty girl, if shorter than he was used to. She was bopping her head once again to music, and he could see himself taking her to karaoke and a movie. Yuuya already came off as a bit odd; it didn't help that he had just sniffed at a pinecone he had just lifted from the ground. He was a handsome enough fellow, but very odd.

"Thankfully, all of the dorm halls are pretty much in the same area. So you can still come with, Yuuya-kun." Shifting his long, heavy black bag onto his other shoulder, Shinichi turned and started to walk at a leisurely place. He wasn't in a hurry, and he doubted either Rika or Shuuya was, either.

"Are either of you returning students, or first-years? I've been coming here for several years already, but I don't make a big splash. I just win all of the Kendo Tournaments." He smiled as he turned to look over his shoulder. "All of them."

 

[Charbovari]

Shuuya. The girl had called him Shuuya. Was it a nickname? Or just a casual oversight? I wonder what characters she imagines it's written with, Yuuya thought, a smile crossing his face. Was it 秋也, with the character for "autumn"? The boy balanced his pine cone on his head, holding perfectly still to keep it in place, picturing himself as some kind of personified essence of the fall season. Or maybe it was 修弥, meaning "learning and mastery"? It would be appropriate, Yuuya thought (not Yuuya, the name is now Shuuya, he reminded himself). For he was indeed a student not only of letters, but of life.

No matter, they were walking, and Rika was talking. She said she wanted them all to be friends. Well, they would be seeing each other often enough, whether she liked it or not, due to the numbers that appeared in gray dot-matrix ink on their housing cards - either due to simple happenstance, or otherwise by the efforts of some trickster spirit that inhabited the Kazeyama administrative offices' mainframe computer. When Rika asked Yuuya what room he was assigned to, he didn't answer aloud (or correct her about his name); rather, he pulled the housing assignment from his pocket and wordlessly handed it to her with a wry smile and a glance towards Shin'ichi.

This girl, Rika Takahashi, was positively glowing with life, Yuuya found himself thinking as he watched for her reaction. He felt an urge to draw her - a blissful vision of ephemeral ecstasy, filling the air around her with life; musical earbuds dangling casually from her hair, like a natural extension of her personhood; her pose, free and natural; springy, like a miniature willow. But no, he had not drawn a portrait of a human being in ages, not since the incident in elementary school. He was not about to risk it now, he thought, biting his lip.

Shin'ichi spoke up, tossing some light conversation into the breeze, asking if he and Rika were new students, and boasting about his Kendo accomplishments in the same breath. "I've been at Kazeyama for the past six years," Yuuya responded airily. "My martial art is an assault on the senses with a paintbrush and canvas. ...They don't have competitions for it," he added, looking out into the woods.

As the trio approached their dormitory, Yuuya suddenly waved and bowed his head politely toward some men who were leaving the building, wearing uniforms of Move!IMA!!, a full-service moving company. They were contracted by Yuuya's parents to get his furniture and supplies out of his temporary summer dorm, and into his regular room for the academic year - the room he would be sharing with Shin'ichi. As he bowed his head to the movers, the pinecone the boy had been balancing there for the whole walk suddenly toppled down - but he caught it gracefully. Yuuya looked down at the thing, which felt different in his palm than he had expected. To his surprise, what he knew was a premature, green pine cone just moments ago when he picked it up, was now fully open, florid and emitting a ripe aroma. Yuuya held it in his open hand and looked at Shin'ichi and Rika suspiciously.

 

[Zypher]

Rika looked between the two boys as they walked, Shuuya was strange to be certain, he certainly seemed involved with that pinecone, even though she felt that it would be okay there, she didn't know why but she almost heard the pinecone say it was okay...she shook the thought, tuning back into the music until the boys began talking about how long they had been at the school. She pulled one earbud away from her ear and listened. They had both been there for a long time it seemed and Shinichi was part of the kendo team.

"Me? Oh, I'm new here, I just moved in yesterday." She smiled, bobbing her head still. As the three of them got closer to the dorms she felt something tugging at her brain, it was a strange sensation but she shot a glance at Shuuya and the pinecone had bloomed...That's really weird. She raised an eyebrow as she opened the door to the dorm.

As Rika walked across the lobby she looked at a group of girls doing tai chi and headed over to the elevator bank, waiting for Shinichi and Shuuya to come over, at least they were all on the same floor. She was thankful to have found friends so soon and she thought that both of them were cute. She pulled out her ipod and switched to a different song, bopping her head along to the beat.

 

[Seiji]

"There could be," Shinichi said with a hint of a smile, referring to competitions for art. "You could ask the Art Director if she'd want to host the first one..."

They approached the dormitory and Shinichi noticed the movers. They were hefting in a variety of furniture pieces, and Shinichi felt a pang of envy for whoever was getting their dorm room loaded with a number of fine furnishings. Shinichi wasn't the type of person to even begin of thinking about how his home looked; he was much more concerned with space for martial arts training and practice. But he could still appreciate comfort.

"I hope these rooms are larger," Shinichi said, searching for more idle conversation. While he was warm enough with people, he did find it hard to find things to talk about. He was so used to talking to people that weren't even alive, and would accept him no matter what he said. Others, though... Sometimes, it was easier to communicate with the bamboo shaft of his shinai, than with any words he could find.

"I think you'll like it here," he said to Rika as they passed a large gathering of girls working on tai chi, of all things. It was a curious sight, considering they were dressed more for recreation than any kind of exercise ritual. He wasn't complaining, though; they were all very pretty girls.

"Something you'd be interested in?" He asked Rika when he saw her looking at them. "Forgive me if it's rude to ask, but I can't help but wonder now... How did you get your invite? I assume, for Yuuya-kun, it was for his art..."

 

[Hydronine]

[BG="#FF2200"]

Shizuko Yamada was happy to come to Kazeyama after all of her mistakes in the past with humans. This place was more likely to be tolerable to the fact that she.... wasn't as human as one assumed, or so she hoped. She merely liked to people-watch, and learn more about them... Maybe... maybe even have friends if she wasn't too scared to make some. That would be nice.... to have people to talk to, instead of just being on the periphery of a group at all times...

But all and all, she had also enjoyed summer. Shizuko had been playing and eating in the forest near Kazeyama, enjoying a simple pleasure of just being herself for a small period of time, running around, pouncing on mice and eating them... just being a regular little fox... err.... well, she didn't exactly look normal even when she was a fox. But still!

She scampered quickly to the room she had been assigned, finding no one was in it.. she had no money for furnishings, and yet... she supposed that man had been there because some basic necessary items were in the room... and she explored a bit, wondering who her roommate would be, if she had a roommate. A constant internal dialogue was running in her head now, trying to think out how she might talk to this new person. But she felt so very shy...

So shy, in fact, that the poor girl merely brushed her hair aside, took the leaf from off the top of her head and hid under the bed for a brief moment, fearing an encounter with a new person that she was unprepared for. What if the girl didn't like her! what if they even messed up and her roommate was a guy? What if whoever it was found out she wasn't human? She just wanted to hide, and she whimpered slightly, unsure of how to proceed. She hadn't talked to that man about what to do! She had been trying to act human for so long but the truth was, she didn't even know where to start on being GOOD at it.... She whimpered again, then yipped loudly in protest of the situation, but bit it off quickly. Who knows who could hear.... she was making herself too noticeable! She needed to look human again!

With that she sprinted out from under the bed and pawed the left back onto her furry head, her soft fur becoming skin and her eyes becoming a autumn-y red once again. She was still so nervous.... but it wouldn't help her case to be hiding under the bed as an animal. That would probably scare whoever came into the room next. She sighed and paced in the room, trying to calm herself. In the midst of pacing, however, she quickly noticed something that she hadn't before. One half of the room was plastered with posters of various people in odd picturesque places and surreal and sometimes even fake looking surroundings. She had no idea who any of them were or the reasoning for the posters, but came to the conclusion that they had to be family pictures. Right? People put up family pictures in their room. So this girl must REALLY love her family.... so.... that would make her a good person, right? Shizuko felt a little relieved, though once she found out that the posters weren't as she assumed, she'd probably be scared because she was wrong, but for the moment, she was a little calmer.

[/BG]